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Beast of Tunbridge Wells
It is an historic and quaint 'middle England' town which doesn't really like creating a scene. But if the reports of one terrified walker are to be believed, the residents of Royal Tunbridge Wells could have a giant Bigfoot-like creature in their midst. A man walking in the woods beside the town's common claims to have spotted an 8ft tall beast with demonic red eyes and long arms. According to The Sun, the ape-like creature, which looked like America's legendary Bigfoot, roared at the walker, who immediately ran off in fear. Over the past six months there have been a number of sightings of a mysterious beast. Locals in the Kent town have mixed opinions about the claims - with some believing it could be a joker wearing a fancy dress costume. Sightings in the town go back decades. The Kentish Apeman was first spotted on the town's common during World War Two 70 years ago. A man called 'Graham S' told a story of how an elderly couple saw it in 1942. Writing for the community website Tunbridge Wells People, he said: 'They were siting on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them. 'Upon turning around they saw a tall, ape-like creature with eyes that were burning red moving slowly towards them. They both fled - terrified.' Bigfoot was the name given to an ape-like creature which many people believed inhabited forests in the northwest region of the U.S. Scientists however do not believe it is a real animal and say rumours of its existence have come from folklore and hoax. Royal Tunbridge Wells is located in west Kent about 40 miles from London. It has a population of about 56,500 and is popular with tourists. Forget the Beast of Bodmin and say hello to the Kentish Apeman. Residents of the upmarket Royal Tunbridge Wells claim they have a giant ape-like beast running around the nearby countryside. The 8ft creature, said to have "demonic" red eyes and long arms, was spotted by a walker in the woods beside the town's common. The man told the Sun he ran off after the beast roared at him. The “sighting” is one of several in the last six months, and locals are split as to whether it is the "real thing" or a prankster in fancy dress. According to community website Tunbridge Wells People, the Kentish Apeman was first seen on the 200-acre common 70 years ago during World War Two. A Contributor "Graham S" told how an elderly couple famously claimed to have seen it in 1942. "They were sitting on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them," he wrote. "Upon turning around they saw a tall, ape-like creature with eyes that were burning red moving slowly towards them. They both fled — terrified." But local Andy Snider said: "I don't believe it." The Beast of Bodmin is the name of a cat-like creature that is alleged to exist in Cornwall. Livestock in the area are sometimes slain and a large cat skull was found in the area in 1995. A paranormal investigator is probing a sighting in Tunbridge Wells of the legendary "Kentish Apeman" - a hirsute 8ft-tall creature with "red demonic eyes". The beast was allegedly spotted prowling the 200-acre Tunbridge Wells Common last month, some 70 years after it scared the living daylights out a couple at the same spot. Suspiciously there are no details on the latest encounter, but one resident known only as "Graham S" apparently hit cyberspace to explain "how when he was working as a painter in the house of an elderly lady, she regaled him with a tale of coming face to face with the apeman on the common during World War Two". His chilling account read: “One particular day she went to the common with her husband and was sitting on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them. “Upon turning around both her husband and herself saw what she described as a tall, hairy ape like creature with eyes that were burning a reddish colour and it was moving towards them at a slow pace. They observed this creature for some time until they became afraid and they both fled – terrified. “She went on to say that they told the police and members of their family, thinking that a gorilla had escaped from a zoo, but were laughed at and were not believed.” Rochester paranormal expert Neil Arnold has gathered further eyewitness evidence of the apeman. A girl named Charlotte was in Dartford, driving home from the University of Kent, when "she saw a creature with long arms and knees which came up under its chin as it walked". In 1991, five members of the Territorial Army fought off the beast with stones and verbals on Blue Bell Hill, outside Maidstone, while in Chatham "a young girl with her partner saw the apeman appear then run off into the bushes". Arnold believes the Kentish Apeman is a paranormal phenomenon, related to folklore of "wild men of the woods", although he admits it's a big ask to prove it. He said: "It’s a very touchy subject in the sense that these things are really not normal. I get some unusual reports. There have been reports all over England, but we can never prove something paranormal." An alternative explanation is that Kent's very own Yeti is very much a flesh-and-blood animal. Anyone who's been to the Medway Towns or Dartford on a Saturday night will doubtless be able to provide Arnold with shocking stories of demon-eyed creatures staggering out of nightclubs to terrify young women before disappearing into the bushes or a nearby kebab shop. News from Britain has been reporting a return of a Bigfoot-like cryptid. Locals call it the Kentish Apeman, and have recently spotted it in Tunbridge Wells Common. This is the exact place it was spotted 70 years ago. The beast is describes as hairy, eight-foot tall, with red demonic eyes. According to the paper, Tunbridge Wells People, "Other sightings have claimed the monster has also been on the prowl in Darftord and Blue Bell Hill, near Maidstone". Early this year we reported on another alleged British Bigfoot trackway find in Cotswolds. Read the excerpt from the Kent News below:The most recent sighting is believed to have taken place last month on Tunbridge Wells Common – the 200-acre wooded site which sits in the centre of the town and is one of its most picturesque features. But after it was reported, it jogged the memory of another local resident who went online to reveal how it tallied closely with a story he had heard years ago. The author, who billed themselves as Graham S from the town, revealed how when he was working as a painter in the house of an elderly lady, she regaled him with a tale of coming face to face with the apeman on the Common during World War Two. The post read: “One particular day she went to the Common with her husband and was sitting on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them. “Upon turning around both her husband and herself saw what she described as a tall, hairy ape like creature with eyes that were burning a reddish colour and it was moving towards them at a slow pace. They observed this creature for some time until they became afraid and they both fled – terrified. “She went on to say that they told the police and members of their family, thinking that a gorilla had escaped from a zoo, but were laughed at and were not believed.”Even our favorite skeptic at Doubtful News has weighed in on the whole idea of Bigfoot living on an island like the U.K. We assume it's preposterous to her for multiple reasons, but we think she is calling out that the U.K is an island. "Another point in the piece is that apemen are sighted in the U.K. Frankly, it’s a preposterous idea. It’s SO preposterous that investigators, like Arnold who is quoted, have entertained that the explanation is not of an actual animal but of a supernatural thing." --Doubtful News Doubtful News is responding to Neil Arnold, a paranormal expert from Rochester. The Kent News article further describes Mr. Arnolds position, "he doesn't believe the apeman to be a flesh and blood 'monster', but a paranormal figure..." Click the following link to read the Kent News article about the Kentish Apeman a/k/a British Bigfoot Category:Britain and Northern Ireland Category:Apes Category:All Cryptids Category:Europe